


Free Time

by jacquelee



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Community: gameofcards, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-13
Updated: 2015-07-13
Packaged: 2018-04-09 04:38:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4334183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacquelee/pseuds/jacquelee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A view on the first scene in the episode Raven. How did Janeway and Seven end up in the holodeck? What are Seven's thoughts during the scene?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Free Time

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a challenge at [game of cards](gameofcards.livejournal.com) for the prompt 'Off the Clock'.

For Captain Janeway, entering cargo bay two right now was still always accompanied by a slight feeling of dread. She knew what to expect and she knew all the Borg components inside had been thoroughly tested and did not present a danger, but still… it reminded her of what the Borg had done, or almost done, that they tried to take her ship, her home, her life. 

But the more important thing was to remind herself that they did not succeed. That Voyager and it’s crew had come out successful in the end. The cargo bay was both a reminder of the battles that had been fought and what was won. Who was won. Looking at the cargo bay’s inhabitant, knowing how much she tried to become an individual again, how much progress she had already made in this short time, Janeway found reassurance that she had made the right decision. 

Seven had been an exemplary member of the crew for these last few weeks. Janeway didn’t herself had the chance to check up on her as often as she would have liked, but she read the reports, she heard from other members of her crew. There was probably some more time needed for Seven to entirely adjust, to call Voyager her home, to fully reclaim the individuality that had been stolen, but with every day it was proven more and more that freeing her, keeping her on Voyager had been the right decision. 

“Captain”

Seven seemed surprised to see her in the cargo bay, no wonder, she hadn’t been here for quite a while, something that she made a mental note to herself should be amended. 

“Is something wrong?” 

“No. I just wanted to know how you are doing.” 

“I did not betray you. Nor am I planning to do so.” 

Janeway couldn’t help but laugh a little at that assertion. 

“Did I say something funny.” 

“No. No, I just… I just wanted to see how you are doing, nothing more.” 

“I am doing… well.” 

“Good. Your work has been exemplary.” 

“Thank you” 

“I was wondering if you’d like to spend your free time somewhere else than in the cargo bay. You haven’t seen much of Voyager yet, have you?” 

“I have not.” 

“Good, how about I show you how I’d like to spend my time outside of work? Maybe you’ll find something you’d like to do in your free time.” 

Seven seemed to have to contemplate that for a few moments. 

“It is hard for me to understand that concept. As a Borg, there was never any free time. Just a task that got completed. Regeneration, then another task. I prefer to have things to do, to work. What else is there?” 

“There are a lot of things we do for recreation. Work is just one aspect of life as a human. If you want to, I would like to show you another very important aspect, how to unwind, how to spend time doing things that are unrelated to work, that are just for yourself.” 

“I will comply.” 

“This is not an order, Seven. I am asking for your company.” 

Seven seemed to think about that for a second and then nodded. 

“Good. Meet me in holodeck two in an hour.” 

“I will.” 

 

The holodeck was still something that was foreign to her. To create fantasies that seemed to be life-like for the sole purpose of interacting with those fantasies seemed… strange. The Doctor had a purpose, he had a specific role to fill. To create a fantasy just for the sake of creating it seemed so wasteful. Weird. 

But she couldn’t deny that she was also curious about what Captain Janeway was going to show her. Entering the holodeck, seeing all those archaic instruments and the Captain telling her that they would work with clay, that they would sculpt something with their hands, did not answer her question as to what purpose these things served, but she indulged the Captain. 

Touching the clay was a curious sensation, as was applying it to the sculpture. She tried to see the purpose of this exercise, to understand it’s meaning, why the Captain would want to show her such an activity. She could not and she voiced that inability. 

Imagination, creativity, recreation, all those concepts the Captain talked about were new to her. All of them seemed so strange, unnecessary. But the Captain was very passionate about them. And looking around the simulation it seemed to Seven that this was an integral part of being human. It definitely seemed to be one for Janeway. Which meant it was worth exploring.

So she looked at the artifacts and walked around the room, eager to understand, to find the purpose of these things. To find their appeal to her own imagination or creativity, even though she did not know if she even possessed those things. A strange apparatus on the wall caught her attention. It seemed like wooden wings of a bird, but very large. The Captain talked about them, but Seven could not pay attention to her. 

Images flooded her mind. A large bird flying towards her. Voices calling her name, her human name. Borg. The images brought with them emotions. Fear. Helplessness. Confusion. 

When the Captain touched her shoulder, asked her if something was the matter, the only thing she could answer was that she didn’t know. What was this? Was this imagination? Was this creativity? Was this what was supposed to happen when recreating? The Captain didn’t seem to think so, saying that it would be better if the Doctor took a look at her. 

She agreed, part of her being sorry for leaving the simulation, for cutting her free time with the Captain short. While she might not have understood the purpose of the exercise, she certainly did enjoy spending time with the Captain in whatever manner.


End file.
